Surveillance fireworks: NSA collects mostly on ordinary web users - What does this mean for reform?

By Erin Mershon

07/07/14 10:01 AM EDT

With help from Alex Byers and Tony Romm

SURVEILLANCE FIREWORKS: NSA COLLECTS MOSTLY ON ORDINARY WEB USERS — The Washington Post had the scoop this weekend, with a four-month review of 160,000 email and instant-message conversations that paint a clearer picture of what, exactly, the spy agency is collecting — and most of it, at a 9:1 ratio, is data from regular Internet users and not foreign targets: “Scores of pictures show infants and toddlers in bathtubs, on swings, sprawled on their backs and kissed by their mothers. In some photos, men show off their physiques. In others, women model lingerie, leaning suggestively into a webcam or striking risque poses in shorts and bikini tops," the Post team writes. The documents also contain information on real dangers. Those included details on a "secret overseas nuclear project, double-dealing by an ostensible ally" and information that led to the capture of terrorism suspects.

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The Post's review, based on documents provided by Edward Snowden, highlights the sweeping breadth of surveillance under FISA's Section 702 — which includes the PRISM program and so-called upstream collection via Internet backbone providers. It's the same section, in fact, that the oversight panel PCLOB deemed valuable in a report last week. (The NYT has more, too, on the Obama administration's efforts to downplay this weekend's revelations, here: http://nyti.ms/VRAjEg.) At least so far, the revelations haven't set off too many fireworks among the major tech companies — for the most part, neither Silicon Valley nor its representatives in DC had much to say after the latest blow. Ed Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represents Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other tech companies, did note the importance of the revelations: "It is again an indication that the impact on average citizens is far greater than has been willingly admitted by the intelligence community," he told MT. If you haven't yet, read the story from the Post's Barton Gellman, Julie Tate and Ashkan Soltani, here: http://wapo.st/1rF5ZcY

-- WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR REFORM? That's the next big question. Black, for one, says this could swing a few key votes, among lawmakers who might have been just slightly skeptical. "Maybe this adds a little ammunition to them understanding that when people are trying to close loopholes, they're doing it for a reason," he said. At least so far, lawmakers haven't shown a great deal of appetite for reforming Section 702; the USA Freedom Act currently up for consideration in the Senate is largely silent on that type of collection. And while the House overwhelmingly passed an amendment that would require warrants to search the types of data outlined in the Post report, there's no clear champion for similar legislative language in the Senate. More today as it comes.

AT&T'S WORK TO THWART MUNICIPAL BROADBAND NETWORKS — AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson wasn't sure last month if his company had ever lobbied against cities or states working to set up their own broadband networks — but as Tony and Alex write this morning, it's clear his company and fellow telecoms like Comcast and Time Warner Cable have spent heavily against such efforts. "On their own, or as part of groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, the companies have deployed their vast lobbying resources from the Carolinas to California, hoping to ensure that private networks don’t have to compete with government-facilitated alternatives," they write.

The projects, which allow regions to put up the cost of building out networks for cable and Internet services, aren't universally opposed by telecom incumbents, but Tony and Alex take a look at the specifics in South Carolina, Indiana, California and elsewhere. All that spending, too, comes as the telecoms are pushing for a new round of media consolidation that could heighten their influence and reach. Read the rest, here: http://politico.pro/1mpP7TV

GOOD MONDAY MORNING and welcome to Morning Tech, where we are giving a post-holiday endorsement to the pop-up Angelika theater at Union Market (check out the indies they're showing this week, here: http://bit.ly/VQRYfo). Tell us about the fun you had this weekend, and send tips and comments over to emershon@politico.com and @eemershon. And find the rest of the team's contact info after speed read.

** A true innovator, SoftBank built the fastest LTE wireless network in one of the world’s most advanced mobile markets, and plans to bring the same game-changing speed to America. With SoftBank, you should always expect the unexpected. Learn why at http://softbankusa.com/. **

MEMBERS ARE BACK — AND THE SUMMER SPRINT BEGINS! Lawmakers return after the holiday week with just four weeks left on the calendar before August recess — and this July stretch, with a big election to follow, is likely the last chance members will have for checking items off their long to-do list. At the top of that list for the tech set is the STELA reauthorization, which will have to make its way through the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, as well as floor votes and perhaps conference, before December. The Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees are also expected to take up the USA Freedom Act after the House passed it earlier this year — SJC Chair Patrick Leahy, at least, has said he wants to hold a markup of his own. It's possible we could see movement on ECPA reform, too, since Rep. Kevin Yoder's bill is now co-sponsored by a majority of the House.

Lawmakers in the House, led by Rep. Lee Terry, have also signaled an interest in a narrower patent demand letter bill, though that effort is still in discussion draft stages. Terry may also take on data breach legislation, but language on that measure has yet to be seen. And, of course, there's still a long list of appropriations bills that have yet to pass — including the CJS measure that includes language on Internet governance and the defense bill, which passed the House with a popular amendment relating to surveillance under section 702. There's also the FSGG approps bill that will fund the FCC and FTC, and it's possible that FITARA language, which would reform federal IT procurement, could make it onto the Senate's defense authorization.

TODAY: MOCS, GOOGLE, PRIVACY ADVOCATES TALK NSA AT NAF -- Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Alan Grayson will kick off today's event with video-recorded greetings, and then Google's David Lieber, CDT's Joe Hall, NAF's Bruce Schneier and Kevin Bankston and other privacy advocates will sit down for a panel discussion on the NSA's surveillance practices and efforts at legislative reform, at the New America Foundation think tank. Expect Lofgren to talk up the House-passed language she sponsored that prohibits the government from searching American's data without a warrant. "We sent a strong signal that if the government wants to collect information on US citizens — get a warrant," she'll say today. "But our work is not done. … We need to continue pushing to protect private information and data security. And we need the Senate to follow suit." We'll be tracking, especially after this weekend's latest revelations. Things kick off at 4 p.m. today, and will be livestreamed here: http://bit.ly/1vBpe4B

YOUTUBE PUBLICLY SHAMES INTERNET PROVIDERS — Google's video site is following in Netflix's footsteps and showing alerts on slow-loading videos, shaming service providers for poor play quality, Quartz reports this weekend. The alert reads: "Experiencing interruptions?" and includes a link to a new website from Google that shows playback quality for ISPs — much like Netflix's monthly Speed Index. (The website is here: http://bit.ly/VQT7Ub) The alerts are one of the first public moves from Google as the FCC takes on new net neutrality rules. Google's relative silence on the issue contrasts the prominent role it played pushing for an open Internet in 2010 — a surprising change, given the company's increasing work on fiber deployment. (Tony had more on Google lobbying for its fiber projects last week, here: http://politico.pro/VQSYjL) And catch the Quartz story: http://bit.ly/VQSytB

ON TAP THIS WEEK — Tuesday: Ted Poe, Greg Nojeim and a host of others will discuss digital privacy reform at the Cato Institute. … Sen. Al Franken will join reddit's Alexis Ohanian and Free Press on the Hill to advocate for "real net neutrality." … The House will vote on the Social Media Working Group Act from Rep. Susan Brooks. Wednesday: POLITICO hosts an event on Big Data and policy. Thursday: The Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up its cellphone unlocking measure. .. TRUSTe hosts a conference on privacy in the Internet of Things in San Francisco. Friday: The FCC holds a monthly meeting, with its E-Rate proposal at the top of the agenda.

ICYMI: OBAMA VISITED 1776 -- The president stopped by the start-up incubator Thursday morning to chat with a crowd of mostly young people (wearing sundresses and shorts ahead of the holiday, per the pool reports). He talked up the five consecutive months of job growth announced last week in a speech mostly focused on economic growth. His thoughts on the space? "This is a cool place to work out of," though he added it might be hard for him to get work done in such a configuration. 1776's photog Noe Todorovich snagged some great shots of the visit — our faves are here: http://bit.ly/VQS6vl and here: http://bit.ly/VQS6M2

SPEED READ

EUROPEANS STILL LOVE AMERICAN TECH PRODUCTS. Europeans are quick to criticize American tech companies for their lack of privacy, their tax practices or their business models, but they're still using Google, Amazon, Facebook and other services all the time, the NYT reports in today's paper: http://nyti.ms/1od5113

A BROKEN FEDERAL CIRCUIT? Today's WSJ looks at the court that handles all patent appeals — and how many times the Supreme Court has chosen to reverse its decisions: http://on.wsj.com/1od4R9V

IS SILICON VALLEY SPENDING IN THE WRONG SPOTS? Recent valuations and buzz for apps like Yo or services that deliver quarters through the mail beg the question, the WSJ's Christopher Mims writes: http://on.wsj.com/1od5Dno

GOOGLE RESTORES SOME LINKS TO GUARDIAN STORIES. The search company reversed its decision after the British newspaper protested its implementation of the "right to be forgotten" ruling, Reuters reports: http://reut.rs/1od44G2

A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH LARRY PAGE AND SERGEY BRIN. The transcript, from Khosla Ventures: http://bit.ly/1od46h7

** SoftBank takes pride in its role as an innovator. We built the fastest LTE wireless network in one of the world’s most advanced mobile markets and the world’s first large-scale TD-LTE network. We’re also invested in more than 1,300 mobile Internet companies worldwide. Following SoftBank’s more than $22 billion investment in Sprint, we are looking forward to bringing our competitive and innovative approach to the U.S. wireless market. Our goal is to connect Americans to the full promise of the mobile Internet and to improve people’s lives by bringing faster, more reliable wireless services to the U.S. in an age when access to high-speed mobile connectivity is critical. Those who know SoftBank know to expect the unexpected. Learn why at http://softbankusa.com/. **